EB Priority Dates Expected to Remain Current
Posted Mar 14, 2003

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) projects that priority dates in employment based (EB) categories will remain "current" through at least the end of fiscal year 2004 (FY2004). That means through September 30, 2004. (As long-time MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers are aware, the DOS fiscal year ends on September 30 of each year.) This is good news for our readers, many of whom fall within one of the three employment-based categories for obtaining permanent resident status or the green card. According to the DOS, the only exception to this prediction is the "other workers" category, which possibly may cease to be current sometime before the end of FY2004.

The projected availability applies to all countries, including India and China, that have experienced significant backlogs in the EB categories in prior years. The DOS' projections are based on estimates of current usage and the pool of available employment-based numbers. These figures could be revised if the demand reduces the available numbers at a faster rate than expected. According to the DOS, of the 130,000 additional employment-based numbers provided under AC21, there are 100,000 remaining. These can be used if the standard annual allotment is depleted.

For more information on priority dates, see MurthyDotCom for our article, Priority Dates : How Do They Work? The DOS issues a monthly Visa Bulletin that provides current priority dates in all employment and family categories. The visa dates also are available on MurthyDotCom.